Bon Appetit Baltimore

$35.10 for a three course dinner? $20.10 for a three course lunch? It must be Baltimore Restaurant Week!

Twice a year, during the months of August and January, many Baltimore City restaurants participate in Restaurant Week. During these seven days of deliciousness, each restaurant offers a menu which highlights its tastiest and most popular items. Guests are allowed to select a first, second, and third course (my favorite!) from the items offered. It’s a great way to try a new restaurant in town, visit an old favorite, or afford a more expensive venue where you’ve always wanted to try.

During Restaurant Week, my strategy has always been to get the most “bang for my buck,” while also sampling the cuisine of a restaurant I’ve never visited. In the past, I’ve been to places like Tio Pepe (the best tortilla in town), Jack’s Bistro (mmm chocolate mac and cheese and fried smores), and Ruth Chris Steak House (delicious petit filet).

On Monday night, some friends and I were off to the Wine Market. It’s located in Federal Hill but this restaurant has a parking lot right outside—a plus for the city. With a variety of different styles of food on the menu at this wine bar, there was something for everyone:

Here, I tried the slow roasted pork belly, the pan seared scallops with tomato risotto, and death by chocolate ice cream. While the pork belly was probably my favorite of the evening, I was able to try a friend’s chocolate pretzel pave with oatmeal stout ice cream and dijon caramel and thought it was amazing. A fun fact we learned while at the Wine Market: Every Monday is Neighborhood Night—that means 20% off ALL entrees. I really love how places have specials like this—it really shows how important the community is to them. We’ll definitely go back to take advantage of this deal!

A few colleagues and I headed to Marie Louise on Tuesday night. Located in Mt. Vernon right on Charles Street—about a 10 minute drive from the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus—this restaurant is a local favorite. When I walked in, the place immediately reminded me of the scene from Love Actually where Jamie (Colin Firth) finds Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz) working at a restaurant and asks her to marry him in poorly spoken Portuguese. In the front, there is a deli counter where pastries and lunch items can be purchased. As you walk towards the back, there is a first floor dining room and a black metal rod stair case which leads to a second floor dining area (think Love Actually here with Jamie standing on the first floor by the bar and Aurélia on the second floor talking to customers at the table). Once seated, we perused the menu:

I decided to start with the poached pear salad, followed by the trio of lamb chops, Merguez sausage, b’steeya, and concluded with the passion fruit crème brulee. Dinner was great—the salad had candied walnuts and the perfect vinaigrette, the assortment of meats were a treat, and the unique twist of passion fruit flavored crème brulee was something I had never tried before. All in all, the trip was a success. A return visit to Marie Louise Bistro is definitely in the works.

On Thursday night, a friend and I headed to Tabrizi’s (where we happen to run into some Hopkins students who work in our office). With Mediterranean style food, this restaurant is located right on the water in Federal Hill. The weather was really nice, so we were able to dine outside at a table with a harbor view. The menu here was one of the most extensive:

After much deliberation, I went with the avocado with colossal crab meat, the grilled beef tenderloin medallions, and crème brulee. The appetizer was a great start to the evening—who doesn’t love Maryland Crab—that’s what we are known for after all—but the beef was a bit disappointing. Although cooked perfectly, there was way too much pepper on top. However, I did split entrees with a friend (the more options you can try, the better!) and the rack of lamb was much better. The crème brulee finished off the evening, and convinced me to give this place a second shot—although I will not be ordering the beef again.

In the end, restaurant week was a huge hit—more than half of the locations who participated decided to run their special menus for an additional week. So, if you are planning on visiting this January/February, you just might want to arrange your visit around Baltimore’s Winter Restaurant Week—although you will need to cross your fingers that Snowmageddon doesn’t return then too!